Apparatus for applying cement to rubberized fabric



M. ENGLER 2,370,298

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING CEMENT TO RUBBERIZED'FABRIC Feb. 27, 1945.

Filed Oct. 11, 1943 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Max Enyler I ATTORNEYS APPARATUS FOR APPLYING CEMENT TO RUBBERIZED FABRIC Filed O ct. 11, 1943 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 B mun l..- i

F .5 F1 .5 INVENTOR J J Max Enyler BY A,

. /euvo 7 )he ATTORNEYS Feb. 27, 1945. M; N ER 2,370,298 I APPARATUS FOR APPLYING CEMENT TO RUBBERIZED .FABRIC Filed Oct. 11, 1943 4 Sheets-Sheet s INVENTOR F 7 7 Max Enyler W )fiz,

ATTORNEYS Feb. 27, 1945. ENG ER 2,370,298

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING CEMENT TO RUBBERIZED FABRIC F iled Oct. 11, 1943 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 9 INVEN'TOR Max E'n'yler BY A ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 27, 1945 APPARATUS FOR APPLYING CEMENT TO RUBBERIZED FABRIC Max Engler, Akron, Ohio, assignmto The General Tire & Rubber Company, Akron, Ohio, a

corporation of Ohio Application October 11, 1943, Serial No. 505,746

Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for coating fabric with rubber cement and has for its object to provide a machine'capable of applying a thin coating of cement rapidly and uniformly to the surface of the fabric.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for collecting and conducting away the inflammable volatile constituents of the cement that are vaporized from the cement applied to the fabric.

The invention also provides improved means appended claims with such variation and modification thereof as will be apparent to one skilled in the art to which the invention pertains.

Reference should be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of the specification in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of apparatus embodying the invention; I

Figure 2 is the longitudinal section through thecement chamber;

Figure 3 is a. section taken on the line indicated at 3-3 in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a section taken on the line indicated at 44 in Figure 2;

Figure 5 is aside elevation of the fabric un-. winding and liner wind-up mechanism;

Figure 6 is a front elevation of the mechanism shown in Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a section taken on the line indicated a 1-1 in Figure 1;

, Figure 8 is a side elevation of a. modified form of apparatus embodying the invention, portions of the-housing being broken away and shown in section, and

Figure 9 is afront elevation of the cement applying mechanism viewed as indicated at 9! in Figure 8.

In the accompanying drawings the invention is shown applied, to apparatus for coating rubberized fabric with rubber cement in which the rubberized fabric'is fed through cement apply- 5 ing and drying devicesto apply a cement coating to the opposite sides thereof. As shown in Fig. 1, a fabric feed mechanism A is' provided in thefront end of the machine and the fabric passes from this feed mechanism through a coating chamber B, a drying chamber '0 to a fabric windup mechanism D. a

The fabric feed mechanism A is mounted on a frame l, which is adapted to receive a fabric holding reel 2, that is detachably mounted in axially aligned bearings 3 and 4. At the top of the frame, above the reel 2, there is mounted a liner reel 5 that is detachably mounted at one end in a bearing 6 and detachably and nonrotatably secured-at the opposite end to a shaft 1 journaled in the frame I. As the fabric is delivered from the reel 2 the liner fabric is led from the reel 2 over a guide roller 8 and is wound on the reel 5.

A take oif roller 9 bears yieldably upon the fabric on the reel 2, the roller 9 being guided for movement toward or away from the reel 2 in inclined slots It! in the frame that are provided in opposite sides of the frame anddispos'ed radially with respect to the reel 2. An electric motor ll, mounted on the frame I, is connected by a sprocket chain l2 to a sprocket I3 rotatably mounted on the shaft 1, sprocket I3 beingconnected by a slip clutch ll to the shaft 1 so that the liner v wind-up reel 5 may be driven fast enough to keep the liner taut when reeling from a full fabric reel but is" permitted to slip to prevent the exertion of excessive tension on the liner as the liner builds up on the reel 5. The clutch I3 may be adjusted to vary the pressure on the slip clutch by means of a hand wheel I5.

The motor II is connected by a sprocket chain Is to a fabric feed roller n adjacent to base of Y, fabric. From the applicator roll 20 the fabric passes horizontally in a forward direction under and around a. guide roller 2| in the front end of the chamber B, then upwardly and rearwardly over a second applicator roll 22, then rearwardly through the rear endwall of the chamber.

The direction of the travel of the shaft is re- 0 versed when passing over the rollers l9 and 20 and, since the fabric under tension engages these rollers through approximately the rollers I! and 2| are driven without slippage by the fabric. The first applicator roll 2| is driven through a sprocket chain 23 by the guide roller II, and the reservoirs 25 and 25 are mounted, each reservoir being in the form of an open top receptacle, into which the lower portion of the applicator roll extends. The reservoirs 25 and 26 contain sumcient liquid cement to fill the same up to a point somewhat above the bottoms of the rolls 2!! and 22 so that the reservoirs supply a film of cement to the rolls as the rolls are rotated.

By reason of the fact that the fabric is traveling faster than the periphery of each applicator roll, the cement is applied to the surfaces of the fabric in a uniform but extremely thin layer.

In view of the fact that the cement contains volatile inflammable constituents which are rapidly vaporized when exposed to the atmosphere in the form of a thin film on the fabric, means is preferably provided for continuously collecting and discharging the fumes given off by the fabric coatings. For this purpose a suction fan 21 is mounted above the coating chamber B and this fan is connected through a vertical suction conduit 28 with two horizontal branches 29- and 30. which extend laterally beneath the two horizontal runs of the fabric in the chamber B, the

branches 23 and 30 beingprovided with upwardly flaring nozzles 3| and 32; which have their open ends closely adjacent the under side of the fabric, forwardly of the applicator roll 20 and rearwardly of the applicator roll 22 so that vapors given off by the films of cement on the fabric will be sucked of and a second row of guide rollers 34 adjacent the top thereof.

The fabric crosses under the rollers 33 and over the rollers 34 to provide a series of vertical runs within the drying chamber C. a

The guide rollers 34 at the top of the'chamber C are all driven at the same speed by sprocket chains 35, driven from a horizontal shaft 36 mounted in horizontal alignment with rollers 34 at the front of the chamber C. The shaft 36 is driven by a vertical shaft 31 which is driven by a motor 39 mounted on the housing B and driving a sprocket chain 38 that drives the shaft 31. Fumes are discharged from the ,interior of the chamber C through a stack 40 which may be provided with adamper 4| to regulate the draft. Air is circulated through the drier chamber C by means of a fan 42 which is mounted alongside the chamber at the bottom thereof, the fan forcing air into the chamber C through a heater 43.

The chamber C may be provided with suitable doors 44 through which access may be had to the interior thereof.

In order to keep the fabric straight as many of the guide rollers as desirable may be in the form art, such rollers being provided'with oppositely disposed spiral ribs upon the periphery which exert a lateral tension on the fabric to hold it fiat as it passes through the machine.

After passing through the chamber 0 the fabric passes over a guide roller 45 in alignment with the rollers 34 outside the chamber and under the guide roller 46 adjacent the bottomof the chamber. The fabric passes under the roller 46 to the wind-up mechanism D which is mounted on a frame 41 and includes afabric wind-up reel 43 that is driven by a sprocket chain 49 from an electric motor 50, the driving sprocket preferably being provided with a slip clutch such as provided on the liner reel of the feed mechanism A. The wind-up reel maintains the desired amount of tension on the fabric and winds with the fabric a suitable liner which is fed from a supply reel 5| over a guide roller 52 to the reel 48. The windup reel 48 is detachably mounted like the reels on the frame I so that the reels may be replaced when the wind-up reel is full and the liner reel is empty.

In Figures 8 and 9 of the drawings a modification is illustratedin which fabric from a feed.

' a first described may be used.

The coating apparatus E is mounted on a frame 60 which has a guide roller 6| at the bottom that guides the fabric .received from the feed mechanism. vThe fabric passes under the guide roller BI and over a guide roller 62 mounted on a frame above the roller GI, and then forwardly to a guide roller 53 and back over the roller 33 at an upward inclination over an applicator roll 64 to a front upper guide roller 65 and then rearwardly and upwardly over a second applicator roll 66. The applicator rolls i4 and 66 are provided with cement reservoirs 61 and 68, which supply a filmof liquid cement to the surface of each of the rolls as it rotates in contact with the fabric. The rolls 64 and 66 are driven by sprocket chains 69 and 10 from the guide rollers 33 and 65 at a peripheral speed of about half the linear speed of the fabric.

To collect the more volatile of the liquid constituents of the cement, a suction fan H is mounted above the frame 50 and is connected by a vertical suction conduit 12 to horizontal suction inlets l3 and 14 located immediately beneath the fabric forwardly of the applicator roll 64 and rearwardly of the applicator roll 86.-

The vapors given off by the cement when exposed to the air in a thin film on the fabric are discharged by the suction fan I l The fabric passes from the coating mechanism into the drying chamber F, which is in the form of an elongated horizontal chamber which is connected to a suction conduit 15 through a plurality of branches 16 leading from the conduit I5 to the top of the chamber F. The chamber is provided with air inlets 11 adjacent the bottom so that air is circulated through the drying chamber during the passing of the fabric therethrough.

The fabric passes from the front and to the rear end of the chamber F under a guide roller 18 and over a guide roller 15 above steam coils ll, around a large guide roller 8| at the rear end of the chamber and forwardly beneath the steam coils 33 to a guide roller 32 adjacent the front end of the chamber, and then rearwardly over a guide roller 83 from which the fabric passes through an opening in the rear end of the chamber to the wind-up mechanism, additional steam coils 84 being provided beneath the lower hori-' I zontal run of fabric. During the passage of the fabric through the drying chamber F, the films of cem'ent on the opposite faces of the fabric are subjected to the action of currents of air circulating upwardly through the chamber and heated 'by means of the steam coils 80 and 84. This heating of the fabric removes additional liquid constituents from the cement, leaving a uniformcoating of cement upon the fabric that firmly ad- -heres to the fabric and that is tacky, but solid enough to permit the necessary bending of the fabric without injury to the coating.

1 claim:

L Apparatus for coating fabric with rubber cement comprising means for supporting said fabric and continuously moving the same in superposed oppositely moving runs; including fabric driven guide rollers at the ends of said runs, applicator rolls engaging the under sides of opfabric intermediate two of said guide rollers and having an arc of contact with the fabric that is less than 90, and a driving connection between each applicator roll and one of said guide rollers for 'driving each applicator roll at a peripheral speed less than that of the guide roller to which it is connected.

.3, Apparatus for coating fabric with rubber cement comprising means for supporting and advancing the fabric, applicator rolls for applying thin coatings of rubber cement to opposite sides of the fabric, suction means adjacent each applicator roll for collecting vapors given oil! by the positely moving runs of the fabric intermediate thin layers of cement, and means for circulating heated air over the coated fabric.

4. Apparatus for coating fabric with rubber cement comprising means for moving the-fabric, spaced guide rollers for supporting the fabric in superposed oppositely moving runs, applicator rolls engaging the underside of the fabric in each run, a suction nozzle closely underlying the fabric adjacent each applicator roll, and means for circulating heated air over the surface of the fabric.

5. Apparatus for coating fabric with rubber cement comprising means for moving the fabric, spaced guide rollers for supporting the fabric in superposed oppositely moving runs, applicator rolls engaging the underside of the fabric in each run, a suction nozzle closely underlying the fabric adjacent each applicator roll, a drying chamber, guiderollers for supporting the fabric in a plurality of runs in said chamber, means for circulating air through said chamber and means for heating the air.

MAX ENGLER. 

